February ll, 1871.] THE PHARMACEU TICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
Canadian Leaf. 
New York Ribbon, Rom the refuse of various 
species. 
5. East Indian. Supposed to be produced by several 
species of the genus Polgncmus . 
Cake and Purse. 
Bombay Purse. 
Penang Leaf and Purse. 
Manilla. 
Madras, from a fish like mullet, put up as “Long 
Staple.” 
Large as this series is, it by no means comprises all of 
the varieties of this interesting material. What I have 
shown will, howevei’, give you some idea of its import¬ 
ance, and still more of the importance that you, who 
have daily to do with these things, should make your¬ 
selves intimately acquainted with such subjects not 
merely in their more common features, but in their- most 
minute details,—not only because knowledge gives power, 
but in your case you will find it will give pecuniary 
reward also, for we are rapidly coming to the point 
when want of knowledge will bring want of business, 
whilst its possession will be certain to secure patronage 
to the pharmaceutical chemist. 
There is one book I must commend to all of you,—I 
mean Pereira’s ‘ Materia Mediea.’ It has given me 
more pleasure than any half-dozen novels I ever read. 
It has given me immense information, and it has been 
my great aid to this and other papers. It ought to be the 
aim of every young pharmaceutist to possess it, and 
his greatest pleasure to study it; and when such is the 
case the profession of pharmacy is certain to take its 
proper place amongst the learned professions of this and 
other countries. 
At the close of the paper a cordial vote of thanks was 
proposed by the Chairman to Professor Archer, seconded 
by Mr. Blanshard, and carried with acclamation. 
LONDON CHEMISTS’ ASSOCIATION. 
At the Meeting on Thursday, February 2, Mr. Cox 
occupied the chair, several ordinary members were 
elected, and Mr. J. B. Hurst, of Louth, and Mr. W. H. 
Pullen, of Leamington, were elected corresponding 
members. 
A communication from Mr. Button, of Rangoon, con¬ 
taining notes on “ Indian Pharmacy ” was read, it was 
-considered desirable to bring the matter forward again 
for discussion. 
Mr. BeynOn then read a paper on “ The Preservation 
of Vegetable Substances.” He said the preservation of 
vegetable and animal substances had, of late years, at¬ 
tracted a great deal of attention, more especially the 
preservation of such as are used for food, which, of all 
•others, are most prone to decomposition. The keeping 
of vegetable substances was of greater interest to the 
pharmacist, deriving, as he does, so many of his medi¬ 
cines from the vegetable kingdom; upon the storing of 
them more care should be bestowed, as many, if not 
dried or preserved in a proper manner, lost their medi¬ 
cinal properties. Mr. Beynon first spoke of the pre¬ 
servation of the lower orders of plants, as the A Igee, Fungi , 
Liclienes , and Filices , mentioning those which are used, 
■as food, and detailing also the best way of making speci¬ 
mens of them for the herbarium; he then proceeded to 
speak of the preservation of different parts of plants, as 
their leaves, fruits, seeds, etc., giving the different 
methods by which ordinary articles of food as corn-seed, 
potatoes, etc. are kept from deteriorating. The keeping 
of Digitalis, Co mum , and other medicinal plants, and the 
preparations made from them also received attention; 
the bottling of fruits was fully described, and then- pre¬ 
paration for the purpose of illustrating structural botany. 
. After an interesting discussion, a vote of thanks was 
•given to Mr. Beynon for his instructive paper, and much 
G57 
regret was expressed at his resignation of the Secretary¬ 
ship of the Association, which office he has held for 
nearly two years. 
Mr. Jessop was elected Secretary, pro tcm. 
A hearty vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the 
business of the evening. 
prlraimtarji nni> fata fntfwimtp. 
Alleged Poisoning by a Cough Mixture. 
On Monday, January 23rd, Mr. John Dale, chemist 
and druggist, of Great King Street, Macclesfield, was 
brought before the Glossop magistrates, charged with 
the manslaughter of Matilda Rowbotham. 
The facts were that the defendant had sold several 
bottles of “ Loxham's Cough Mixture ” to the mother of 
the deceased, who retailed them at her shop. On the 
previous Thursday Mr. Dale called and saw that the 
little girl was suffering from hooping cough, and recom¬ 
mended a little of the cough mixture to be mixed with 
water and given occasionally. 
The mother, upon cross-examination, admitted she had 
not followed Mr. Dale’s directions, but had given the 
whole three spoonfuls between two o’clock in the after¬ 
noon and twelve o’clock at night. She further admitted 
that the child might have got to the medicine in her ab¬ 
sence. The child was nine years old. 
James Rhodes, M.D., proved having analysed the sto¬ 
mach. The child had died from a narcotic poison. In 
cross-examination he said that by morphine he meant 
laudanum; sulphuric acid might produce morphia in its 
action on laudanum. The directions on the bottle, if 
followed, would not be dangerous. 
For the defence it was urged that all intelligent per¬ 
sons were aware that medicine improperly administered 
would often prove one of the strongest poisons. One of 
“ Dover’s Powders ” was useful, two might possibly be 
injurious. Reference was made to Lord Lyndhurst’s 
judgment in the case of Reg. v. Webb , where it was 
clearly laid down that to be manslaughter the medicine 
must be violent and dangerous, and administered by a 
person totally ignorant. Another point fatal to the pro¬ 
secution was, that the mother had not followed the di¬ 
rections of Mr. Dale. 
At the conclusion of the evidence, the magistrates 
decided upon dismissing the charge. As, however, Mr. 
Dale has been committed for trial upon the coroner’s 
warrant consequent upon an inquest, he will have to 
appear at the assizes, but it is thought that the grand 
jury will not find a true bill .—■Macclesfield Courier. 
Poisoning by Home-made Lime-water. 
At an inquest held at Birmingham, it was shown that 
a patient having been directed, among other things, to 
take a certain amount of lime-water every day, but not 
being told whether to buy it or make it himself, straight¬ 
way procured some lime, mixed a lump with water, 
stirred it and drank the thick mixture. A few hours 
afterwards acute symptoms of gastritis set in, resulting- 
in death. A verdict was returned by the jury to that 
effect. 
The Medical Times and Gazette , in commenting upon this 
case, says that the lesson to be drawn from it is this, 
always to take for granted the complete ignorance of 
patients concerning the nature and properties of drugs, 
and never recommend them to be their own chemists, 
but tell them to apply to those whose legitimate business 
it is to supply them. 
Attempted Suicide by Sugar of Lead. 
Last week, a well-dressed man, named Thomas Gee, 
was charged at the Mansion-House with attempting to 
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